Medico-Legal Evaluation of Fatal Perinatal Asphyxia

In a retrospective study we examined frequency of perinatal asphyxia occurrences and the post mortem changes in newborn infants. Legal outcome of medical malpractice was also analyzed among our cases. There were 66 cases with perinatal asphyxia between 1992 and 2001. During neonatal period 27 infants died. There was one crime case and two civil law cases, which were started against the medical treatment during delivery. The improvements in the quality of prenatal care and the increased number of routine intensive fetus examinations, the in utero transport and the rate of cesarean section, may result in a decreasing perinatal mortality.